GAME #5
Samford (4-0) at Cleveland State (2-2)
Buckeye Basketball Classic
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 | 5:00 p.m.
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 1420 AM
PDF Game Notes
Samford at Cleveland State
GAME PREVIEW:
• Cleveland State concludes a four-game homestand Sunday (Nov. 18) with a 5:00 p.m. tip against Samford.
• The Vikings (2-2) will be looking for their third straight win after topping Urbana and South Carolina State during the homestand.
• Samford is 4-0 with wins over North Alabama, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State and Miles.
• The Bulldogs are 4-0 for the first time since 1997-98 despite having to replace all five starters from last year.
• A win by CSU would mark its first three-game winning streak in the regular season since the 2014-15 season.
• Sunday will be the second game in the Buckeye Basketball Classic for CSU and the first for Samford.
• The game will be broadcast live on AM 1420 with Al Pawlowski and Pat Vuyancih on the call.
• The game will also be shown live on ESPN+.
THE SAMFORD SERIES:
• Sunday will be the first all-time meeting between the two teams.
• The Bulldogs are one of two new opponents for the Vikings this season with Davidson, who CSU played in the season opener, being the other.
THE BUCKEYE BASKETBALL CLASSIC:
• This early-season event will feature 10 games played by five teams from Nov. 11-25.
• Seven of the 10 games in the event will take place in Ohio.
• The event features Cleveland State, Ohio State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Samford and South Carolina State.
GAME 4: CSU 84, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 69 (11/16/18):
• CSU led for over 32 minutes, including the entire second half, and pulled away late to top SCSU and win its second straight.
• Five Vikings reached double figures, led by a career-high tying 19 points from Stefan Kenic.
• CSU had a 25-4 advantage in points off turnovers and only committed eight turnovers in the game.
• Jaalam Hill had a team-high six rebounds while Tyree Appleby led CSU with six assists for the second straight game.
FINE FROM THE FLOOR FOR FOUR STRAIGHT:
• Cleveland State has had a higher field goal percentage than its opponent in all four games thus far this season.
• It marks the first time CSU has achieved that feat in four consecutive regular-season games within a season since the 2013-14 campaign.
• CSU did have such a four-game stretch in 2017-18 that spanned the end of the regular season and the Horizon League Tournament.
NOT OVER THE HILL:
• Junior college transfer Jaalam Hill is shooting 73.1 percent from the floor in the early going (19-for-26).
• Hill had 15 points, on 6-for-7 shooting, and six boards against Kent State for his first double-figure scoring game at CSU.
• He posted 10 points last time out, hitting double digits for the third straight game, while adding six boards and three assists.
• Hill is averaging 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds, tops on the team, in 22.3 minutes.
EFFICIENTLY EFFECTIVE:
• Five Vikings are shooting at least 50% from the floor in the early going.
• Jaalam Hill leads the group at 73.1% (19-26) while Algevon Eichelberger (14-23), Seth Millner (13-23), Stefan Kenic (12-24) and Rashad Williams (16-32) all sit at or above 50% for the season.
• Those five Vikings have also produced a combined 25-for-47 mark from three-point range on the season.
SHARING THE SCORING LOAD:
• CSU only had two players reach double digits in the scoring column in each of the first two games this season.
• That has changed in the past week as the Vikings had six in double figures vs. Urbana and five with 10+ against SCSU.
SHARING THE WORKLOAD:
• Though CSU has only played four games this season, seven players are averaging between 17.5-23.0 minutes per game.
• Tyree Appleby is the only Viking with a higher average as he leads the team with 28.3 minutes/game.
• The last time Cleveland State had no player average at least 30 minutes per game was in 2005-06 when Carlos English led the squad with 28.4.
BOOST OFF THE BENCH:
• The Vikings' bench has outscored its opponents in all four games.
• CSU has a 132-63 advantage in bench points on the year, an average of over 17 points better per game.
• Rashad Williams has 47 total points off the bench while Jaalam Hill has 43.
DETERMINED ON DEFENSE:
• In their first 30 games under head coach Dennis Felton, the Vikings allowed their opponent to shoot 45% or higher on 17 occasions.
• In the last nine games dating back to last season, CSU has held all nine opponents under 45% from the field
• CSU's opponents have shot a combined 39.8% in this stretch (231-for-580).
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
• Freshman Rashad Williams scored 15 points in his debut in just 19 minutes as he shot 5-of-7 from distance at Davidson.
• Williams also led CSU in scoring against Urbana with 14 points.
• He has three double-figure scoring efforts in four games.
• Williams is averaging 11.8 points in 19.3 minutes while shooting 50% from the floor.
TYREE FOR THREE:
• Tyree Appleby scored a career-high 28 points against Kent State on the strength of a career-best five three-pointers.
• All 28 of his points came in the second half as he shot 5-of-8 from distance in the frame.
• The 28 points are the most by a Viking in the Dennis Felton era.
FOR THREE:
• CSU enters Saturday's game with a school record streak of 636 straight games with a three-pointer.
• The Vikings have hit at least three three's in 185 straight games.
• The last time CSU failed to make a three-pointer was Feb. 21, 1998, when the Vikings were 0-for-8 in a 60-57 win over Detroit.
FOR THREE, PART TWO
• The Vikings set a single-season school record for three-pointers made (294) and threes attempted (863) in 2017-18, breaking the old records of 247 makes and 709 attempts.
• CSU tied the single-game school record of 14 three pointers made in four different games last year.
FOR THREE, PART THREE
• Entering the weekend, CSU led the Horizon League with its 40.8% mark on three-point shots.
• The high rate has not come due to a lack of attempts as the Vikings are second in the HL in three-pointers made per game (10).
• The Vikings have hit 10+ threes in two games this season and shot over 50% from distance in both of those contests.
YOU CAN CALL ME AL:
• Sophomore Algevon Eichelberger just missed his first collegiate double-double when he had 10 points and nine rebounds vs. Urbana.
• He followed that up with a career-high 15 points against South Carolina State on perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor.
• He also has two blocked shots in each of the past two games.
SERBIAN SUCCESS:
• Stefan Kenic scored 333 points last season, among the top 10 totals all-time among Viking freshmen.
• He led the team in free throw percentage (.791) last season and was second on the team in three-point percentage (.371).
• He tied his career high with 19 points last time out, his second straight double-figure scoring game.
• Kenic had a career high four assists in the season opener.
• Kenic is joined on the squad this season by fellow Serbian, Aleksa Popovic.
ODDS & ENDS:
• A player on the opposing team has fouled out in each of CSU's opening four games.
• Each of CSU's opponents has had exactly 12 turnovers.
UP NEXT:
• CSU continues action in the Buckeye Basketball Classic by traveling to Ohio State Friday, Nov. 23, at 8:00 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2009-10 season.
